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Strickland touts middle class in Ross County visit

Former governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Ted Strickland, left, and Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman of Party Engagement Nina Turner, center, share a laugh with former Chillicothe City Councilwoman Queen Lester during the Ross County Democratic Party’s Values Day Spring Dinner at the Chillicothe Elks Lodge. During the event, Lester was presented with the Empowering Women for Public Service Award.(Photo: Chris Balusik/Gazette)Buy Photo

CHILLICOTHE – Ted Strickland, absent from elected office since losing a tight re-election race for the governor’s office in 2010, said he is pursuing the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Rob Portman in 2016 because he feels he must.

In an appearance Saturday evening at the Ross County Democratic Party’s Values Day Spring Dinner, Strickland said he was pulled into the race by U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have determined money equals speech when it comes to large corporations looking to gain access and influence in Washington, D.C.

The result, he said, is a lack of transparency in the lobbying system and influence that is polarizing the distribution of wealth, squeezing the middle class.

“We’re going to take back the ability of regular people to feel their voice is being heard,” Strickland said.

As things stand now, Strickland will face a spring primary challenge from fellow Democrat P.G. Sittenfeld, a 30-year-old Cincinnati city councilman who says the state needs leaders who embrace technology and innovation, view Ohio’s diversity as an asset and find ways to engage and empower the public. The incumbent, Portman, presently does not have an opponent in the 2016 Republican primary.

Despite having to get through the primary, Strickland siad he has his sights firmly set on Portman in the November 2016 general election. Finding solutions to improve conditions for the middle class — including increasing the minimum wage, addressing the cost of higher education so graduates don’t leave school in crushing debt, protecting safety net programs such as Social Security and providing a health care program that is affordable for everyone — will form the backbone of his campaign.

He also cites foreign policy differences with Portman and, in an interview with the Gazette before his speech, said small businesses need support through tax breaks and other incentives.

“The big guys can take care of themselves, and usually do, but it is the entrepreneur and small business person who is willing to take a risk to hire people and to provide goods and services,” he said. “That’s a part of our economy that’s most in need of support.”

Portman, meanwhile, in his early campaigning, has come out against Strickland’s jobs record during his time as governor.

Nina Turner, chairwoman of party engagement for the Ohio Democratic Party, was the evening’s keynote speaker. She said the party is being energized by a new Main Street Initiative designed to build momentum from the local level on up through working with prospective candidates to give them the knowledge and tools they need for a successful run. The initiative, she said, also will help Democratic leaders identify up-and-comers at the local levels of the party for possible future runs at state and national offices.

Earlier Saturday, party members took part in two service projects. In one, 72 bags of trash, car parts and other materials was cleaned up along Veterans Parkway over three hours. In the other, volunteers worked on improvements to the playground area of Carver Community Center.